Chapter 355
Chapter 355: Finally Arrived. (1)
Mage Tower Exchange.
It was a grand event that had been held for a very long time among the Mage Towers.
According to the wizards, it was an occasion where the wizards from different towers shared knowledge, discussed, and demonstrated their abilities—a ‘highly dignified and elegant’ event.
With many wizards from various disciplines gathering, there was certainly much to gain from interacting with one another.
Reclusive wizards rarely had the chance to acquire knowledge from other fields due to their obstinacy.
Wizards were extremely reluctant to share their knowledge and preferred to glean from others instead.
Thus, what had begun as a meaningful exchange among sages gradually became less frequent due to their stubbornness.
This was especially true among wizards of the same school. One never knew when someone might suddenly rise to prominence.
Bad relations among the same school? Then they might as well not see each other for the rest of their lives.
The Tower of the Bloody Flame and the Tower of Crimson were just such rivals. Yet now, Delmood had the audacity to propose calling over the wizards from the feuding faction for an exchange.
Elder Glen replied, his expression troubled.
“Do you think they’ll accept… something like that?”
“We’ll make them accept it. If they refuse, they’ll constantly interfere with our operations.”
Delmood had one reason for pushing the exchange. Inevitably, during the exchange, the disciples from the towers would engage in duels.
Of course, the tower lords and elders wouldn’t participate. If they were to lose, it would severely damage the prestige and face of the tower, so they typically sat those out.
However, customs are just customs; they’re not rules. Delmood aimed to take advantage of that and decided to participate in the duels, planning to eliminate everyone at the right moment.
“We need to hold the exchange no matter what. At this rate, we’ll be losing ground before a civil war even starts.”
The status of the tower is determined by the circle of their lord. However, the benchmarks for assessing business capability and sphere of influence are somewhat different.
The Tower of the Bloody Flame was traditionally strong, boasting superior artifact and potion-making skills, along with a larger number of disciples.
The number of elders reaching the 6th Circle was greater at the Tower of the Bloody Flame than at the Tower of Crimson.
“Now, we can’t even claim an advantage in financial strength.”
Just reaching the 7th Circle wasn’t enough for Delmood. It was Count Desmond’s financial power that had firmly grasped the distribution of northern runestones, enabling them to push forward against the Tower of the Bloody Flame until now.
However, Count Penris, the richest person in the north, was supporting the Tower of the Bloody Flame. Despite receiving backing from the Duke faction, the disparity in distance was substantial.
Thinking about this, Delmood ground his teeth in frustration.
“What the hell is Count Raybold doing?”
With Count Desmond out of the picture, Amelia, who had become the lord in his place, should be supporting them.
Even though the northern territories were barren, Raybold was a great territory. They surely had the means to offer support.
But for some inexplicable reason, Raybold hadn’t sent even a single gold coin. Instead, excuses kept piling up, claiming they needed support from the Duke faction themselves.
Glen clicked his tongue in irritation.
“That foolish girl got lucky becoming a lord and is too busy sorting out her territory. She clearly doesn’t know how to view the big picture, and what’s essential… tsk, tsk, tsk.”
“Is there no other contact?”
“None. We’ve met a few times, but all she says is to wait a little longer due to the issues arising from the rebellion.”
Glen had already met with Amelia several times, asking her to support the Tower of Crimson in place of Count Desmond.
But as Amelia kept delaying assistance, his frustration only grew.
Delmood was also simmering with anger; things were going south, and their mission wasn’t proceeding smoothly.
Yet Raoul from the Duke faction was only urging them to eliminate the Tower of the Bloody Flame quickly.
“Nothing ever gets done because of Count Penris.”
While Amelia was irritating, the most frustrating part was undoubtedly Count Penris. After Count Desmond’s defeat, everything that had been going smoothly spiraled into chaos.
They couldn’t refuse the Duke faction’s order just because assistance waned. They had received too much support already, and Delmood’s advancement to the 7th Circle was thanks to the Duke faction as well.
Ultimately, with a sigh, Delmood chose the method he wanted to avoid most.
“If they refuse the exchange, stir up trouble with all the clients and vendors dealing with the Tower of the Bloody Flame. Losing a few mages is inconsequential. Make them accept.”
At those words, all the elders nodded grimly.
It wasn’t difficult to remove the Tower of the Bloody Flame by force. However, doing so would raise suspicion not only from Count Penris but also from the Crown Prince faction connected to him.
Despite that, there was no choice now. They had to wipe out the Tower of the Bloody Flame before a civil war erupted.
If the situation continued to spiral, they decided to handle things with force, so they also had to think about what to do after eliminating the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
“If we remove the Tower of the Bloody Flame by force, the Crown Prince faction will definitely press us. Until the civil war starts, we need to meet Amelia again and somehow secure support from her.”
Glen, who handled the tower’s diplomacy, nodded. They just needed to endure until the civil war, regardless of how the Crown Prince faction reacted.
After that, they could sweep everything away alongside the nobles of the Duke faction.
With that, preparations to fight against the Tower of the Bloody Flame commenced.
*
When Ghislaine returned to her territory, everyone greeted her with indifference. It seemed no one worried much about where she went anymore.
Only the territory residents were excited about their lord’s return.
However, Claude was slightly different from the other retainers. With bright eyes, he said,
“Give me.”
“What?”
“Since you’ve been out, you must have brought something back for someone.”
“…….”
Now, she was being treated completely like a robber. Sure, she might look like one, but it wasn’t fair. Ghislaine had never just taken something without cause.
Ghislaine pouted her lips a few times before snappishly replying,
“Nothing.”
“Nothing, you say?”
“Uh.”
“Are you really saying you brought back nothing? Didn’t you snatch any money?”
“That’s right. Oh, did I leave you money?”
The territory had grown so big that she couldn’t keep track of where the spies were. So, she couldn’t reveal that she acquired Dark yet.
Even if she did later, she only planned to show her capabilities little by little.
Especially the ability related to the mind had to be kept as hidden as possible. That way, when Eloise cast her magic, she could hit back in a surprising way.
The upcoming military operation would be the same. When the civil war started, she only planned to discreetly inform her close associates.
She had also firmly warned Arel to keep his mouth shut.
But Claude, who didn’t understand Ghislaine’s deeper intentions, wore an immensely disappointed expression.
“What the… so what was the point of going out…?”
Every time Ghislaine went out, she was supposed to bring something back. That was the ultimate truth. But not bringing anything back? That was a failure.
Claude turned away, muttering,
“Guess the lord can just come back empty-handed sometimes. It’s the first time I’ve seen a failure like this. If she took a bet on that, she’d have lost. Ugh, guess the lord has fizzled out now. It’s over, it’s over. What use is she now if she can’t even rob? Not like she has a good personality anyway.”
“That jerk?”
His mutterings somehow sounded loud. Ghislaine, feeling her nerves scraped by Claude’s words, began rolling up her sleeves.
She’d been thinking it was time for some more training after having written the introduction for Arel. Now was the chance.
“I did bring something back.”
“Oh? Really? What is it? Show me quickly.”
“I gained the realization that for some, violence may be the truth.”
“……?”
Puuuh!
“Kyaaaaaah!”
As Ghislaine threw a punch, Claude screamed in terror and fled. Wendy quickly dodged to the side.
Of course, Claude couldn’t escape Ghislaine. Having caught him by the scruff, he was subjected to a beating worthy of a rainy day’s obscurity.
“Hey, what are you teaching the kid? What the hell does that introduction mean? Madness?”
“Ugh, c’mon! Did I say anything wrong? You crazy around here… ARGH! Stop! I was wrong!”
Even as she raised the intensity, his mouth was still functioning. Ghislaine thought while hitting him.
“This jerk… strangely has gotten tougher?”
He was certainly a curious fellow. Despite being recognized as the weakest alongside Alfoy in their territory, he was enduring her ‘training’ far better now.
“If this is my usual intensity for training knights, then?”
Reluctantly, Ghislaine hit him just a bit harder, and finally, Claude conceded.
“Stop! Stop hitting! I won’t do it again!”
“Haah… somehow feels a bit refreshing?”
Ghislaine took a satisfying breath as she watched Claude, who rubbed his eyes and sniffled.
In terms of hitting skill, there were better candidates, but for venting frustrations, he was undoubtedly the best. Claude had the tendency to irritate her the most.
Deciding to conclude this mental training at this point, Ghislaine spoke with an uninterested expression.
“Gather everyone. I need to assess the situation in the territory.”
“Sniff, okay.”
Following Ghislaine’s order, the retainers quickly assembled. However, several seats were empty.
“Huh? Where’s Alfoy? A few others are missing too?”
At Ghislaine’s question, everyone awkwardly smiled as if puzzled. Claude scratched his head and spoke up.
“Well, he’s been a bit busy lately. We should see him soon.”
“Oh really? He’s actually working hard?”
At that, everyone nodded with reluctance. In reality, Alfoy was indeed busy working on something.
With Ghislaine tilted her head at their odd reactions, she began receiving reports on the situation in the territory.
Things were running smoothly, just as before. However, the most noticeable aspect was the astonishingly high number of potions piling up.
“Oh!… that’s faster than I expected.”
Near the Magic Laboratory, countless potion production facilities had already been established.
The Territory of Penris was now a place that would be pitiful to call second in construction skills.
With wizards, dwarves, and skilled laborers combining their efforts, dozens of potion factories sprung up in no time.
“Wow, there are even more wizards now?”
Close to 70 wizards were now working in the Magic Laboratory. Claude’s continuous promotions and the influx of wizards coming to the Territory of Penris had created a sudden boom.
Wizards were inherently selfish. Thus, they would just pretend not to notice when a new wizard arrived, as the more workers they had, the better.
Before long, they had accumulated enough wizards to be considered a small mage tower. Resources were plentiful, so potion production was proceeding remarkably quickly.
“Before long, we should be able to provide each soldier with at least one potion. Even the goal of giving them two each should be easily achievable.”
Although the progress was advantageous, it was considerably more rapid than anticipated. Ghislaine became curious about what method they had employed and immediately went for an inspection.
“Is Alfoy really working hard? Making this much potion and still can’t attend the meetings?”
“Well… yes, he is doing well.”
“Wow, what’s this? He’s actually become useful. He wasn’t like that before.”
At Ghislaine’s comment, Claude let out another awkward chuckle.
Upon visiting the Magic Laboratory and potion production facility, she indeed found the wizards working hard with exhausted expressions.
“Ugh, I feel like I’m going to die.”
“This ridiculous territory… how dare they treat wizards like this…”
“I want to run away… I want to escape…”
Everyone was ground down by fatigue, grinding their teeth. Witnessing their state, Ghislaine couldn’t help but admire.
“How on earth are they managing to work so hard like that?”
Wizards were characteristically individualistic. No matter how much reward one offered, they typically wouldn’t toil so diligently.
Just by looking at their faces, she could tell. With expressions full of dissatisfaction like that, efficiency couldn’t be high. That’s why she had never hesitated at the start to beat them into submission.
However, those who wore such disgruntled faces were working hard, even in her absence. It was clear something else was at play.
“Did Vanessa have a hand in this?”
Ghislaine quickly dismissed the hypothesis that had popped up. Vanessa was an excellent scholar, not necessarily a great administrator.
The atmosphere wasn’t quite right for her to be making them work in exchange for magical knowledge.
Just as Ghislaine was pondering what had transpired, the door grew noisy, and a group burst in.
“Hey you, jerk! Who told you to escape! Huh? You want to die? If you don’t finish today’s quota, I’ll be sure to inform the head of the lab and have you face a Mana Absorption punishment! Got it? Hurry up and meet your quotas! We’ll run two shifts today! If the quotas aren’t met, you’re all dead! Understand?!”
The person who shouted loudly was none other than Alfoy. In his hand dangled a wizard like a fish on a line.
And on his left arm, he wore a badge.
A badge with a sinister design, depicting the slave brand and an entangled rope.
Ghislaine blinked at the unfamiliar badge and opened her mouth.
“Alfoy…?”
“Huh? Is the lord here?”
Alfoy responded nonchalantly. His demeanor had changed considerably since they last met.
He now had a strangely menacing aura, exuding a rough vibe all around him.
What’s more, he was accompanied by five wizards, all sporting identical badges.
These were the wizards she had originally captured from the Tower of the Bloody Flame and turned into slaves.
Alfoy’s badge was orange, while the other wizards wore blue badges.
These guys… during the time she hadn’t seen them, had been wielding unofficial power among themselves, wearing badges.
